Many diseases or disorders have chronic and/or progressive effects that can occur over a period of years. Degeneration of function occurs with deterioration of the involved tissues.
Huntington's disease is a genetic degenerative brain disorder characterized by chorea and behavioral disturbance.
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disorder in which patients may display rigidity, tremor and bradykinesia. Patients are frequently disabled by the symptoms.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people over 65 years old.
Diabetic retinopathy is a common consequence in diabetics and is a leading cause of blindness in the growing population of diabetics.
Scleroderma is a chronic multisystem disorder characterized by accumulation of connective tissue in the skin and in visceral organs.
Optic neuritis results from inflammation of the optic nerve that can cause loss of vision.
Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy usually associated with elevated intraocular pressure.
The incidence of allograft vasculopathy (transplant vasculopathy or transplant coronary artery disease) increases in the years following heart transplant. Allograft vasculopathy kills about 40% of heart transplant patients.
Closed head trauma includes concussion and contusion, for example, and can be severe enough to result in prolonged or irreversible brain damage.
Treatments to reverse, slow or arrest progression of degenerative conditions would add to quality and extent of life in patients afflicted with a degenerative disease or disorder.